Outlet box



Jam. 2, 1923.,

J. BARRY.

OUTLET BOX. FlLEDv0CT12l1920...

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Application filed october 12, 1920. Serial No. lllfll.

To al@ whom, t 'may concern.'

Be .it known that l, JOSEPH BARRY, -a citizen of the United States, and a resident 'of the city of New York, borough 'of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a' new and Improved Outlet Box, vof which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. y p

This inventionk relates to electrical lixtures, and'has particular reference to an outlet box. A

An object of the invention resides in the provision of means wherebyI an outlet box adapted to receive a plurality of cables .can be fastenedto any stud or joist and yet permit the reception of cables therein with a minimum amount of distortion or disturbance thereof. 4

Another object resides in the provision of means whereby each cable is simply and efficiently vclamped within the box without dan er'of tearing the insulation, which may resu t'in short-clrcuiting the wires.

Another object is Yto providea box which can receive a plurality of cables Lon a side wall, stud or ceiling without the aid 'of an auxiliary support, such as a gas pipe ora wooden backing.

A still `furtherobject resides inl the pro-` vision of a clamping means for the cables in the outlet box wherebya simple, efficient grip isy achieved Without .the usual side strains which tend to twist the insulation and covering and cause a short circuit.

Other objects will appear froma consideration of the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Hitherto -in the use of outlet boxes, the apertures through which the cablesare received'are disposed uniformly around the surface of the box, so that if it is desired to fasten the box to a stud or joist it is impossible to vdo so Without closing certain "of the apertures or so disposing them that cables have to be twisted out of alignment in order to get them into the box. Moreover, in thel present type of box the gripping means used is suchv as to causea side strain on the cable insulation or covering which ultimately results in tearing the same, causing short circuit. My invention is directed to overcome these disadvantages and is achieved in the manner set forth in the following description and claims and shown in the accompanying drawings.

The invention is-illustrated in the drawings, of which- Figure l is a vertical section of the box .as appliedto a joist or stud in a ceiling;

b Figure 2 -is an inverted plan view of the ox; y

Figure 3 is a view of the box looking towards the ceiling, as shown in Figure 1 Figure 4 isa partial section taken on the line 4 4 of 1F igure 2; and l Figure 5 is an enlarged detailof oneof the clamping members.

As shown 1n thedrawings, the invention is embodied in the form of an outlet box having a body portion l, which is preferably circular in forin. This body portion has' a central aperture .2. This aperture is shown smooth but'may be threaded to receive a suitable bushingor to receive the end of a c gas pipe -on which the outlet'box may be mounted if desired. AThe outlet box on the -rear face thereof is provided with a recess 'portion 3 in which portion a plurality of aperturesalare disposed. rlhese apertures 4c are adapted to receive the circuit wires or cables, such as 5.v Adjacent'each aperture 4 and formed integral with the body portion l are curved walls 6 the curvature of which simulates approximately the shape ofthe l=\cable to be'inserted 1n the box. These curved walls are connected together between pairs of apertures A by a bushing portion 7 having suitable apertures therein through which"`the body portion -8 of la screw is adapted to extend. Thehead 9 of the screw is seated in a suitable recess 10 in the outer face of the outlet box. Between each pairof apertures 4 is located the bushing portion 7 through which the screw 8 extends.- The outer end of the screw 8 is adapted to extend through a threaded opening in an adjustable, movable clamping member 11. ing member, on opposite sides thereof, is formed into curved portions 12 simulating in curvature the stationary portion 6 above mentioned and spaced on opposite sides from the stationary portion 6 of 'the apertures 4. By the adjustment of the screw 8, the curved portions 12 are moved toward or awayfrom the stationary curved portions 6. lf a cable 5 is inserted into the recess portionB, having previously been stripped along a portion oit'v its end to free the circuit wires therein, these labuts against the inner face of the recess turesll are disposed substantially on'one side' of the. outlet box, the other side ofthe outlet boxsbeing'uninterrupted excepting by a plurality of small screw-threaded holes v13 through which screws,.such as 14, :mayiextend to fasten the box to a stud orjoist. By disposing the threaded apertures 13 on 'one side of the box, it can be fastened to a stud or joist, such as 15, in such manner as to cause the apertures 4 to lie on one side of the joist or stud'15.- This permits the insertion of the cables in theoutlet box without any disturbing of their alignment and twisting ofthe cables, which results'in. an increased expenditure of time and labor 'and the possibility of short circuiting due to the strain on the cables. The edge 16 of the outlet box, through which the threaded holes 13 are pierced the outlet .box and is holloW,1-as shown in ligure 1 by the. numeral 17, so as to make the outlet box as light as possible'in Weight. The body portion of this box may be cast in one piece and is, therefore,"simple and eco# nomical to make. v

In Figure 1 lrhave shown the outlet boxv applied tc a stud or joist4 15 in the ceiling,

lis disposed along the rear-,edge of screws `14 extending through apertures attached to the box and the joist along the edge v eral edges'o the boxto lie Hush with its inner and outer edges, "and another fixture or sealing portion 18 can be placed around therfront face of the box in any suitable manner. v What I claim is:

lar ringlike body portion,I a Wall extending partly across the front face of the ring, anfd ,j 45 1.` An outlet boxwhichcomprises a circu?` means, each of said Walls being flush With y respect to the edges of the body portion.

2. An outlet box which comprises a body portion having a flat Wall and a recess on e'ach face, the Wall on one face being Hush .fwiththe respective edge of the body portion and disposed opposite the recess on the other face, one of said Wallshaving a plurality of cable-receiving apertures therein, the other of said Walls on the opposite face of the box having apertures therein to receive fastening means.

JSEPH BARRY. 

